BLESSED by YOU

Flerida, Hilda and Lori after Lori's last girls' Bible study. She loved being able to participate in this study with the teen girls and she misses them already!

We LOVED having Gabe, Toby, Eliana, Ryan and Angela Smedes come to visit during one of our last weeks in Phoenix. The timing was perfect and we enjoyed our visit immensely with them before their big move to Peru. The kids especially had fun getting to know one another. The first of many visits for these growing families! :)

Bob and Pete at our last small group discussing water models, optimization, general flows, sewage systems and Tim Keller sermons one last time. Pete is going to miss Bob big time!

Pete with Angel, who became like another son to us this past year. We are going to miss him coming to our home to visit.

Our wonderful small group, which doesn't look so small here. It was a night to remember as they honored us and loved on us. We miss you guys!

We couldn't have survived the last few days in Phoenix without these two beautiful servants. Lisa, who was visiting for the week, and Amy came and helped Lori finish up the packing while watching the kids. Then, last minute, they graciously hosted us at their house the last two nights we were in Phoenix and watched our kids for those two days while we finished up the packing and cleaning. Thank you two SO MUCH!

After a busy month in Phoenix, we enjoyed the slower pace of life once we made it to Texas and spent some time at B and Grandad's house. The kids especially loved hanging out with their sweet dog, Annie.

Here's a happy bunch the day we moved into our apartment in Austin. Thankfully, B and Grandad were able to come and help us move everything in and get us settled. Thanks you two!The kids have made themselves at home in the apartment and are thankful we remembered to bring a current favorite, "Fiddler on the roof." Is it weird that a 2 year old enjoys watching this 3 hour movie?

PERFECT TIMING

We could not have planned this move to Austin better. We thought we had a good plan when we first started thinking about moving to Austin. "We'll move in January, Lori will go with the kids first to Texas for a week and find a place to live, then Pete will pack everything up and follow the next weekend, starting his new job that next Monday." Nothing worked out this way. First of all, as we told you in another update, our house sold in 5 weeks, praise God. The closing date was December 11th which made our plans fast forward about a month. Our friends, the Smedes, came for a visit that same week and left Phoenix Dec. 11th and the buyer graciously allowed us to stay in our home until Dec. 22nd. We were able to host our dear friends, and then focus on packing up our belongings the next week. Our plan to move in January was changed to December and the Lord's hand was very evident in this change because the Christmas break in between the move from Phoenix and to Austin was very much needed. We spent a restful week and a half in College Station with Lori's parents and grandma, spending Christmas and New Year's with them. Pete and Lori were able to find an apartment together in Austin which we will live in for 3 months while we look for a house. The apartment is 5 minutes from Pete's work, 2 minutes from Lori, Lily and Silas' Bible Study and 1 minute from where Pete will attend Bible Study. We couldn't have planned all of these details better if we had tried. The Lord is guiding us in all our decisions and we are trusting Him in guiding us to the right home and the right church(definite prayer requests). We were able to move into our apartment and settle in this past weekend since our belongings arrived early (another blessing from the Lord) and Pete headed off to his new job this morning. We have explored the city a little and are impressed by all the "green" places to go and hang out. We are looking forward to many good picnics, hiking adventures, and peaceful breaks in the woods right outside our back door.

UNAVOIDABLE HEARTACHE

While we praise God for working out the details concerning this move to Austin, we also praise Him for the heartache we felt as we left Phoenix. It reflects His many blessings He showered upon us while living in Phoenix and for this we are grateful. We had an emotional last week while in Phoenix (some more than others :)) as we said goodbye to friends who had become like family and attended our "lasts" for everything including our last small group and last church service where we felt completely loved and honored. Praise God for the wonderful friends He gave to us in Phoenix and how He blessed us immensely through them.

Our new address until the beginning of April is:

4600 Monterey Oaks Blvd., Apt. #318, Austin, TX, 78749

Our e'mail addresses remain the same so please feel free to stay in touch. We would love to hear from you.

Trusting Him,

Pete, Lori, Lily and Silas